When was heathrow opened

By the old terminal on the north side had closed and airlines either operated from the Europa terminal later renamed Terminal 2 or the Oceanic terminal now Terminal 3. Terminal 1 opened in , by which time five million passengers a year were passing through the airport as the jet age arrived with Boeing s, VC10s and Tridents taking travellers from Heathrow to and from all parts of the world.

The s marked the decade when the world became even smaller thanks to Concorde and wide-body jets such as the Boeing As the decade drew to a close, 27 million passengers were using Heathrow annually. Demand for air travel also created the need for another terminal, Terminal 4, which opened for business in Over 67 million passengers travel through the airport annually on services offered by 90 airlines travelling to over destinations in over 90 countries.

By the time Heathrow celebrated its 60th anniversary in it had handled around 1. The start of operations at Terminal 5 in March marked the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Heathrow. The first airline to move in was United Airlines. Your session has timed out due to inactivity.

Skip to Content Back to Main Menu. Welcome to Heathrow Enter your flight details to check which terminal you need. By three runways had been completed and work on another three — subsequently abandoned as unnecessary — was going on.

A new, permanent building arose in the central area at the start of the s, replacing the tent. As traffic boomed Heathrow Airport found itself with an ever-increasing demand for passenger facilities. Next came the new Oceanic terminal handling long-haul carriers, a function it still performs as Terminal 3, followed by the opening of Terminal 1 in By , passenger numbers were up to 14 million a year. This was when the other two terminals were renamed Terminals 2 and 3.

The airport by this time was known as Heathrow, having been renamed from London Airport in Further expansion took place at Heathrow in the s, as passenger numbers grew and aircraft got bigger. In Terminal 3 was expanded with a new arrivals building, so it now operated for both departures and arrivals. There were significant changes to the runways in the s. Three of the other runways were closed at this time, but one smaller runway 23 was left until and sometimes used for crosswind landings.

The s also saw the London Underground network extended to Heathrow. The Piccadilly line was first extended from Hounslow West to Hatton Cross in , then further to Heathrow Central serving all three terminals at the time in Concorde arrived at the airport in It was a joint effort between the UK and France.

While it was intended for use by other airlines and several placed orders but never took delivery , only British Airways and Air France ever operated it.

British Airways flew it on daily services to the US. By the end of the s according to Heathrow Airport , the airport was handling 27 million passengers annually. Continued growth in air travel meant an additional terminal was soon needed. Terminal 4 was opened in by the Prince and Princess of Wales.

It was built to the south of the southerly runway, close to the cargo terminal but far from the other three terminals. The original airport plan saw the first three terminals all built in the central area, but there was now no additional space in that area. There has also always been limited space for car parking in this area with car parks being added further from the airport.

This shows well the differences at the time the airport was designed. Travel was an elite affair, and it was expected that most passengers would be driven to the airport. A loop was added to the London Underground line before the terminal even opened, and an additional station built to serve the terminal as it still does today. British Airways moved out of Terminal 4 after Terminal 5 opened in A significant change in airport operation took place in when the company controlling the airport, British Airports Authority, was privatized.

Privatization brought many changes. Most notably to airport users was a large expansion in airport retail as a new source of revenue for the operators.

In , the Heathrow Express, a direct rail link between the airport and Paddington station in central London, opened. This required new stations at the airport and a new rail link built to connect with the Great Western Rail mainline. Until , a check-in service was offered at Paddington station, but this was withdrawn due to high costs and lower than expected use. It is a shame as the rail link has never become as popular as links at other airports, such as Hong Kong International Airport.

Links may improve when the Elizabeth Line part of the Crossrail project opens in and offers better connections to central London. Plans were also made during the s for the development of Terminal 5. This was announced in , following a decision to expand Heathrow instead of Stansted as the best way forward to handle aviation growth.

The public consultation process for Terminal 5 took nearly eight years and finally concluded in Following the end of the war, the airport was handed over from military to civil control on 1 January The first commercial flight to take off from Heathrow that same day was a converted Lancaster bomber named Starlight that flew to Buenos Aires. Sign in.

Back to Main menu Virtual events Masterclasses. Here we explore the history of Heathrow Airport in photos…. Workmen attempt to trench away water from around the marquees for passengers at the new London Airport, 30 May